rendering of new park image

Parks

Smoky Hollow Park Project

Envisioning a New Urban Park

The 2014 and 2022 City of Raleigh Parks Bond Referendums allocate funding for site remediation, park design and permitting, and construction of the future Smoky Hollow Park ($13.5 million).  An additional $5.5 million in project funding will come from a Raleigh Stormwater capital improvements allocation.

Please see the Resources section at the bottom of this page to download the draft Schematic Design Plans.

In November 2022, Raleigh City Council approved and adopted the Concept Design Plan for Smoky Hollow Park (formerly called Devereux Meadow Park).  Per the bond referendum and the Concept Design, the project focuses on environmental remediation, stream restoration, flood and stormwater management, greenway trail implementation, and park improvements for passive recreation. 

The future Smoky Hollow Park will offer walking paths, gathering spaces, and extensive landscaped and naturalized areas. The centerpiece of the park is the restoration of Pigeon House Branch, realigned to flow through the middle of the park. A constructed wetland will work with the stream to improve water quality. There will be multiple viewing areas for the stream and wetland area along the pathways and from the plazas.

Project Details

 
Type:
Parks
Budget:
$13,500,000 (2014 and 2022 Parks Bonds funding)
Project Lead:
Gary Claiborne, Capital Projects Supervisor; Megan Walsh, Stormwater Senior Engineer
Contractors:
Tetra Tech Engineering (Civil and Environmental Engineering and Consulting), Design Workshop (Landscape Architecture), and Ecosystems Planning and Restoration (Stream and Wetland Restoration Consultants)

Contact

 

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources
Gary Claiborne, Capital Projects Manager
gary.claiborne@raleighnc.gov
919-996-2677 

Engineering Services
Megan Walsh, PE Stormwater Senior Engineer
megan.walsh@raleighnc.gov
919-996-4009

Lead Department:
Parks, Recreation and Cultural ResourcesEngineering Services
Service Unit:
Stormwater

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This project supports

Raleigh's Climate Plan in Action

Smoky Hollow Meeting

Project Updates

The project is currently in the Schematic Design Phase.  The final Schematic Design will be reviewed by the Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board at their regular March 21, 2024 meeting.

The project site, known informally for many years as "Devereux Meadow, is a 14-acre City of Raleigh-owned property currently used as a city maintenance yard and vehicle fleet facility. In November 2022, Raleigh City Council approved renaming the future park to “Smoky Hollow Park.”

Project Timeline

  • Park planning started in 2017 when Raleigh Parks initiated an analysis of site environmental characteristics, issues, and limitations. 
  • 2021 - Based on feedback from multiple stakeholders and engagement with the public, three concept alternatives were developed.
  • 2022 - Additional rounds of public engagement along with an improved understanding of site constraints resulted in the development of a final concept plan.      Concept Plan approved by City Council in November 2022. 
  • 2023 – Second phase of environment studies performed.  Start of schematic design phase.  Public open house and survey on the draft schematic design in December 2023.
  • 2024 – Finalization of Schematic Design.  Final public open house in March 2024.  Presentation of final Schematic Design to Parks, Recreation and Greenway Advisory Board on March 21, 2024.

Concept Plan

Key features of the concept plan include:

  • Complete removal of existing buildings and pavement
  • Site remediation to address contaminated groundwater and soil
  • Restoration of Pigeon House Branch
    • Daylighting of the culverted sections of the stream
    • Relocating a portion of the stream into a natural alignment
  • Development of a natural and passive park
    • Pathways and plaza areas
    • Flexible gathering spaces in open lawns or wooded areas
    • Various landscape areas including mowed lawns, meadows, ornamental beds, riparian and wooded areas, landscaped buffers, and preservation of an existing oak tree line
    • Graded landforms
    • Stormwater management practices to address on-site and off-site stormwater runoff

See the Resources section at the bottom of this page to download the Concept Plan Report.

Public Engagement

Previous Public Engagement

Open House on the Draft Schematic Design – December 2023
Results of the Draft Schematic Design Survey

Concept Design Open House – Winter 2022

Virtual Open House - Spring 2021

History

Although today a paved City of Raleigh maintenance facility, the Devereux Meadow site has a rich and complex history that illustrates important moments in Raleigh’s past. 

During the pre-history period, the area near and around Devereux Meadow was used as hunting lands by Native Americans.  Piedmont and Coastal Plain Native Americans may have both crossed paths along the riparian corridor of the present-day Pigeon House Branch to track buffalo and other game.

During the settlement of Raleigh in the 1700s, the site was once a part of the Robert Halton tract and then later owned by the Lane and Mordecai family. Margaret Mordecai and her husband John Devereux, Jr. inherited a piece of her family’s land which is understood to have included the site of present-day Devereux Meadow.  

During the Civil War, the project area included earthwork structures, many of which were built by enslaved people.  Union troops may have camped on the project site which was referred to as “Devereux Grove.”  There is also a later reference to the property having a millpond that was locally referred to as Mordecai’s millpond. 

After the war, several communities developed around this area of Raleigh and the new railroad.  These communities are referred to as Brooklyn and Smoky Hollow.  During the late 1800s, “Devereux Meadow” is mentioned to be a community gathering space by several of the neighborhood churches.  

At the turn of the century, the original Devereux family home, known as Will’s Forest, was demolished.  Several mills were built such as Pilot and Cotton Mill along with houses for the mill workers in the Smoky Hollow community.  In the early 1900s, Devereux Meadow is referred to as a playground and included public ball fields and other recreational uses.  

Nearby neighborhoods such as Smoky Hollow remained in the area until the 1950’s when both African American and white families were forcibly removed from the neighborhood and the homes demolished.

In the 1930s and 1940s, with the help of the WPA, the Devereux Meadow baseball stadium was constructed.  The stadium construction included the burying and channelization of Pigeon House Branch.

The Devereux Meadow stadium was used as a minor league baseball stadium from the late 1930s until it was closed in the early 1970s and eventually demolished in 1979.  Teams that played there include the Raleigh Capitals.  It is understood that several baseball greats, including Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, and Jackie Robinson, played at Devereux Meadow.  Portions of the stadium wall still stand along the western edge of the site.  

Following the demolition of the stadium, the site was converted over to the current city-owned maintenance facility.

The vision for this site as a public park has been around for several years. The Capital Boulevard Corridor Study Report (2012) and the Raleigh Downtown Plan (2015) noted this project as being a priority.

Schedule

Date Activity
2017 - 2020 Site Environmental Analysis
2020 - 2022 Site Planning, Conceptual Design, Stakeholder and Community Engagement
2023 - 2025 Park Design and Permitting
2025 - 2027 Site Construction (planned)

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